Why the Windows 8.1 Update probably means no more Service Packs for Windows

But we'd expect compulsory updates to become the norm.

In response to customer outcry, organizations holding off on deploying the Windows 8.1 Update will be able to get security updates for their systems for another three-and-a-half months, as opposed to the 30 days that Microsoft originally promised.

When the Windows 8.1 Update designed to improve the mouse and keyboard experience of Windows 8.1 was initially released last week, Microsoft said that it was a mandatory update. Any future security updates, starting from next month, would require the update to be installed.

This was met with a frustrated response from IT personnel. Not only did the update cause problems with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) deployments (though this was fixed today), it was also of a sufficient scale and size that organizations that were partway through deploying Windows 8.1 don't want to switch to the update partway through, due to the need to re-test and re-validate it.

Some comments on Microsoft's announcement that it would be compulsory went so far as to compare it with a Service Pack. This perception is significant, because Service Packs have a well-established support policy. Generally, there is a two-year overlap during which Microsoft produces security fixes for both the current Service Pack level and the previous one. This affords plenty of time to test the update before deploying it.

But since this update is not branded a Service Pack, that policy isn't in effect, and Microsoft instead wanted to push it aggressively. Extending the support window to 120 days (instead of 30 days) should provide a little respite to those administrators that were unhappy with the forced update, while still forcing a much more rapid deployment than would be the case with an actual Service Pack.

However, we'd expect this kind of thing to become the norm in the future. We know that Microsoft intends to release future Windows 8.x updates, such as the one that will introduce a hybrid Start menu/Start screen. We believe that this likely heralds a faster-paced approach to operating system updates in general, as Microsoft strives to keep up with Android, iOS, OS X, and even Chrome OS, which all deliver new end-user functionality on a much more regular cadence than Microsoft has traditionally managed.

Giving each of these smaller but semi-regular updates the Service Pack life cycle would create enormous overheads for Microsoft. Overheads that competing platforms don't really have to suffer. Faced with competing pressures to deliver features quickly, provide support, and keep development manageable, something has to give. Ditching Service Packs, with their support commitments, is probably the least painful way to go. Windows 8.1 is, from a support perspective, equivalent to a Service Pack (Microsoft lists it as the "latest update" to Windows 8), but going forward we'd expect even this kind of update to disappear, replaced by a series of smaller, mandatory upgrades.